Thornbridge have invested heavily in their production process in order to package beers in to 500ml bottles having switched solely to 330ml bottles in 2017. 

Despite the PBA (Premium Bottled Ale) category being in double digit decline, Thornbridge said it has never been one to shy away from bucking trends.

Simon Webster, CEO of Thornbridge explained: “At a time when National and large Regional breweries are falling over themselves to enter the Craft category, we see a huge opportunity to re-invigorate a stale category that is crying out for some new brands and innovation.”

Having switched from 500ml bottles in 2017 to 330ml bottles and to focus on the installation of a canning line, Thornbridge feels this is the right time to re-launch in to a category that is still considerably larger by volume than Craft, but desperately needs refreshing in order to arrest the decline. 

Rob Lovatt, Brewing Director at Thornbridge added: “We wanted to try and replicate, as closely as possible, a pint of cask ale in the pub.

“After many trials we have successfully ‘re-seeded’ our beers with live yeast to allow an element of Bottle Conditioning to produce a finer, smoother carbonation without the build up of hop matter and yeast associated with bottle conditioned beers of yesteryear.”

Thornbridge will initially launch with seven beers in the core range and will release regular seasonal offerings also. Dom Metcalfe, Sales & Marketing Director commented: ‘We are showing double digit growth on cask ale in the On Trade which is a category in decline and we think we can make a huge positive impact on PBA also with our ‘Fresh, Live Beer’.

“We will obviously lead with Jaipur, but will also have all of our staple cask ale brands including Lord Marples, Astryd and Crackendale in the 500ml format.’

hornbridge have already secured Nationwide listings with Waitrose, Asda and Booths starting in early May and are in advanced talks with Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco with regard to listings later in 2023.